


Episode One: Rescue Mission

by TheFoil



Series: Adventures of Fei Tahn [1]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Blood, Gen, My First AO3 Post, My First Fanfic, Violence, still learnin the ropes, wee bit o' humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-01
Updated: 2017-12-14
Packaged: 2019-02-09 00:35:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12876411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFoil/pseuds/TheFoil
Summary: All is well and happy on the young planet of Jarelle. The separatists have been run off and the peoples of the lush world celebrate in their freedom. Fei Tahn and her forces prepare to leave the planet, but things take a turn for the absolute worst and soon Fei and her men find themselves in danger, death hanging in the balance of one of Grievous’ schemes. It’s not going to be easy to get the young Jedi master out of this tight spot, but Obi-Wan, Anakin and Rex will do anything it takes to save their dear friend.





	1. It's a Trap!

**Author's Note:**

> So, little bit of history: Fei Tahn is a character I created for the Star wars universe. She is royalty of the Ahnoteri race, a people of a mostly ocean world. I am not so creative that I would create an exact science for her species, but her people have an aquatic from... Yes. Mermaids. What reasoning I did put into it was A) Water enters the lungs and triggers a chemical release, which in turn triggers the transformation. Legs fuse, fins grow. Bam. Mermaid. B) Oxygen enters lungs and triggers a chemical release. Triggers the counter-transformation, and there you go. Legs.

“General Kenobi,” Rex called to Obi-Wan from the communications room. “We have an incoming transmission from the surface of planet Jarelle.”  
“Very good, Rex,” Obi-Wan said, turning away from the flight deck. “It’s probably Fei with a battle report.”  
Rex tapped a button and their end of the communications line opened, allowing Fei’s holographic form to manifest itself with Ahsoka standing near behind her. The Jedi master’s narrow frame leaned heavily on her oaken cane, favoring her right leg. The pale pink scars peaking above her utility belt, a constant reminder of her first run in with Grievous that had nearly cost her her left leg. Her thin tail flicked back and forth behind her a few times as she swept her long silver hair away from her pale face.  
“General Tahn,” Rex saluted.  
“Thank you Rex,” Fei said, her long, pointed ears twitching at the sound of his voice, pleased. “At ease.”  
“Fei. Good news, I hope?” Obi-Wan asked, but noticed a quick flash of doubt and hesitation cross her pale lavender eyes.  
“Yes, Master Kenobi,” Ahsoka spoke up from behind Fei. She came to stand next to the young Jedi master, a proud inch taller. “It was an easy victory,” she said.  
“And that’s what worries me,” Fei said. “The droid army was small in number and in strength. There was no organization or formation whatsoever, and General Grievous is nowhere to be seen… It was all too easy. Too quick.”  
“Come on, Fei!” Anakin Skywalker exclaimed as he strutted into the room. “I’m pretty sure it’s just because your fleet is just that good, even without you main man Rex here,” he said, patting said clone’s shoulder. “Grievous probably saw you coming and ran back to Dooku with his tail in between his legs like the coward he is.”  
“Exactly!” Ahsoka exclaimed. “That’s what I said.”  
“Perhaps you are right,” Fei said. “Regardless, the battle is over. Jarelle is won and we will meet up with you shortly. Besides Skywalker,” she smiled at Anakin. “I need to trade your padawan for my captain back.”  
“Right you are,” Anakin said with a wink.  
“Very good,” Obi-Wan said before the transmission ended.  
Fei handed the com link off to a storm trooper and turned to walk away, deep in thought.  
“Master Tahn?” Ahsoka asked, running to her side. “You still seem concerned.”  
“Yes, Ahsoka, but I do not know why…” she answered. “I simply can’t seem to shake this feeling that something is not right…”  
“Master, the battle is won, like you said,” Ahsoka said, trying to reassure the Jedi knight. “We’ll meet up with Master Kenobi and Master Skywalker and I’m sure you’ll feel batter.”  
“Perhaps…,” Fei said. “Perhaps you’re right… Alright troops!” she shouted. “Pack up and load up! We’re headed back to the cruiser!” There was a uniform salute and the troopers quickly rushed to follow her orders.  
“You did well today padawan,” Fei complimented as she limped towards her squadron’s gunship.  
“Thank you master,” Ahsoka said, running to her own squad.  
The thirteen gunships on the surface were soon loaded up and took off into the atmosphere, leaving the young, republic planet happy, proud and free from separatist rule.  
As her ship neared the edge of the atmosphere, Fei’s feeling of unease grew to the point of worry.  
“General?” her captain asked in concern, noticing Fei’s agitated demeanor. “Are you okay?”  
“I’m fine, Sal,” Fei told him. “But I feel… anxious…”  
The gunships cleared the atmosphere and were quickly approaching their cruiser, positioned near Jarelle’s moon, Fei’s ship in the lead. All was silent.  
“General!” the pilot suddenly shouted from the cockpit.  
“What is it, Jet?” Fei asked.  
“Our cruiser!... It’s not here!”  
“What do you mean?!” Sal asked in shock.  
“It’s gone!” Jet shouted  
“Is there any debris?” Fei asked.  
“I don’t… Yes! Yes there’s debris! Our cruiser has been destroyed!”  
“Turn around!” Fei ordered. “Retreat back to the surface.” The pilot turned the ship around as Fei contacted the rest of her fleet. “Everyone, turn back! Return to Jarelle! Our cruiser has been destroyed!”  
Two separatist cruisers suddenly appeared from behind Jarelles’s small moon, emerging from the darkness of its shadow. “We’ve been deceived,” Fei realized. “It’s a trap.”  
“We don’t have but a few fighters!” Sal said. “The rest were all destroyed with the cruiser. We’re defenseless!”  
An army of separatist drone fighters were released from the cruisers and rushed towards the republic forces. The few fighters that Fei’s fleet had took up the rear to defend as the fleet retreated back to the planet.  
“We can’t out run them and we can’t win if we confront them,” Fei said. “…but we have to try… Sal!” she called. “Try to contact Obi-Wan. Let him know the situation and request backup.” A red laser beam shot past the gunship. The enemy fighters were getting closer.  
“Yes sir!” he said. He opened his communications line and attempted to contact their fleet in the neighboring system, but couldn’t reach. “I can’t get through. They must be blocking our transmissions.”  
“Very well,” she said. She opened the communications link with her fleet. “…Men, we are out gunned, outnumbered and alone. We can’t simply outrun them… gunships T-02 through T-06 and all fighters with me. We are going to do our best to hold off the enemy to allow the rest of the fleet to reach Jarelle.” Sal eased up on the thrusters, slowing the ship. The rest of her fleet shot past her as Fei’s gunship fell back to the rear, alongside the fighters and the rest of her suicide squad “Unfortunately, I do not see our victory at the end of this battle, but we will take down as many clankers as we can before this battle’s end.” An explosion shook her ship as a nearby gunner was destroyed by the separatist canons, but Fei continued. “The rest of the fleet. You must reach Jarelle and contact General Kenobi’s fleet. Commander Tano is you commanding officer as of now. Good luck soldiers,” she ended. “Turn this ship around, Jet,” Fei ordered, leading her attack.  
“Yes sir,” Jet responded. “It’s been an honor to serve you.”  
“Yes,” Fei said. “And it has been an honor to fight alongside you.”  
She took a deep breath, turning to look at her men when her wrist com suddenly started blinking. “Ahsoka,” she answered.  
“Master!” Ahsoka exclaimed. “What are you doing? If there’s any ship that should be heading back to the planet, it’s yours! Not mine!”  
“Padawan,” Fei said calmly. “I cannot ask my men to do something that I cannot do myself. I have too much pride,” she said, a sad smile in her voice. “It can be a bit of an issue sometimes, b-“  
“Master-“ Ahsoka tried to interrupt.  
“Ahsoka,” Fei said in a stern voice. “This entire system is depending on us for their lives. Their freedom. Even if the battle is lost for me, Obi-Wan must be made aware of the situation.” Another explosion lit up the interior of the gunship as another canon blast hit its mark. “Obi-Wan can win this battle, but only if he knows to come here. Ahsoka, that is why you must go back. I can buy you some extra time, but it’s up to you.”  
“But master-“ Ahsoka tried to plead, but the short range com link soon fizzled out as their ships flew too far apart.  
“May the Force be with you,” Fei said.  
“And also with you,” Ahsoka responded, even though she could not hear the words spoken. “Alright men! You heard her!” she said loudly as the gunships sped down to Jarelle.  
Fei had her eyes closed in meditation. Her brow was relaxed and she leaned heavily upon her cane. The enemy fighters were almost upon them. Her own fighters returned fire.  
“Incoming transmission, sir,” Sal said, interrupting Fei’s thought.  
“From who?” she asked.  
“I don’t know, but not one of us.”  
Fei took the com link and opened her end of communication. “Grievous,” she said with distain upon seeing the tall android’s hologram.  
“Fei Tahn,” Grievous responded in his gravelly metallic voice. “I am calling to request your unconditional surrender.”  
“Oh really?… hmm, your offer is tempting, and it might be foolish to refuse, but I will not surrender my men to a fate worse than death aboard your ship and I will not surrender this system to your tyranny,” Fei told him. “But that’s just me… What about my men? Your opinions matter greatly to me,” she addressed her troops turning to face them.  
“I’m with you all the way, sir,” Sal said.  
“Aye,” Jet agreed, along with several others.  
“No surrender!” another shouted, quickly echoed by his brothers.  
“I’m terribly sorry Grievous, but there you have it.”  
“Hmm, well I must say I’m disappointed. I only contacted you in hopes that you would save both your fleet and mine the trouble and agree to my terms, because I plan to take you in either way,” Grievous growled. “For it seems I am in need of a bargaining chip, and you, General Tahn, will do very nicely.” Fei shuttered, disturbed by his words. “Fire up the canons!” he shouted to his droids.  
“Ready for evasive maneuvers,” Fei told her clones.  
“There is nothing you can do. You are mine!” Grievous said. “FIRE!”  
A wave of blue energy was emitted from the enemy ship and expanded out into space at an alarming rate.  
“What is that?!” a clone shouted.  
Fei immediately opened up her com link and contacted her fleet. “Turn around!” she shouted. “I don’t know what that is, but we’re gonna get out of its way!” another explosion shook her ship from enemy fire as the fleet turned to escape the rapidly approaching blast. The light emanating from the wave grew more and more intense until even the inside of the cabin and cockpit was only blinding white light. The silence was deafening as the wave passed through the ship.  
The lights went out. The engine shut down. All was quiet. All was dark.  
“Jet! Turn on the auxiliary power,” Sal ordered.  
“I can’t, sir,” Jet said. “It’s out too.”  
“That was an EMP blast,” Fei said, her eyes finally adjusting to the dim starlight trickling in through the narrow windows. “Knocked out all electrical systems. We are completely immobilized. Completely defenseless.”  
“What do we do?” Sal asked.  
“There’s nothing we can do right now,” Fei answered. “There’s no escape pod, our guns are down, and the oxygen is only going to last so long. The only escape I see is aboard the separatist ships.”  
The inside of the cabin was quiet. Nobody spoke as they drifted in space, but it wasn’t long before the separatist ships were nearly on top of them.  
“…Um, General?” the pilot questioned. “They’re flying right over us.”  
“They must be going to retrieve the gunships closest to the planet. The ones closest to aid,” Fei told him. “It makes sense. He doesn’t know which ship I’m on… Reckless bastard.”  
Sure enough, the cruisers started with the ships nearest to the planet and pulled them aboard.  
They waited. It seemed like an eternity. The anticipation and unrest in the air made every minute feel like an hour.  
“Listen to me,” Fei said, breaking the silence and grabbing the attention of her troops. “I don’t know what we will be faced with when we are taken aboard, but I need you to trust my judgement. I want all of you to have your weapons ready, but I want you to wait for my order. If I see there’s a chance to escape, I will signal you when we get onboard. However, I don’t see much hope. We will be the last onboard, so the best chances of escape will probably already have passed. They will be holding the rest of your brothers, as well as commander Tano hostage. I fear there will be nothing we can do without risking their lives.” She paused for a moment in thought. “…Grievous said he needed a ‘bargaining chip’… I don’t know my feelings on that. It implies that he wants us alive; although, that might not be such a good thing.”  
Finally, the separatist ships came to hover over them and the smaller gunship was pulled towards the cruiser’s flight deck. “A tracter beam,” Jet commented. It was only a minute or two before Fei’s gunship was swallowed up by the giant. As the heavy deck doors slid shut behind them, Fei sensed that escape was not an option. Droids poured on to the flight deck and soon the ship was completely surrounded.  
“I don’t suggest an escape. It would be suicidal,” Fei told her men. “Surrender would be our best chance of staying alive. There would at least be a chance of rescue or escape later.” She turned sharply towards the windows as a presence made itself known to Fei as the sliding blast door slid open on the far side of the deck and Grievous stepped through. He was accompanied by two familiar faces. The vile, blue face of Cad Bane and the defiant face of Anakin’s padawan. She walked, handcuffed, in between Grievous and Bane, with Bane’s pistol pressed into her back. “And it seems they’ve brought even more leverage than their already overwhelming gun power,” Fei said with a scoff.  
“Drop open your doors, exit the ship with your hands up and hand over your weapons or the padawan dies,” Grievous shouted.  
Fei sighed in frustration, turning her head from the narrow window, her eyes closed in shame under a furrowed brow. “I wish there was more I could have done… I wish there was something I could do…” she apologized to her men.  
“General,” Sal said. “None of this is your fault.”  
“No, but it’s my responsibility,” she said. “Disarm your weapons. We will agree to his terms of surrender.” She lowered the hanger doors and led her men slowly off the ship with her arms raised in defeat. As they stepped out, one of the first things Fei noticed besides several of her damaged gunships were dark blaster marks on the walls and ceiling, as well as quite a few scrapped droids, and a few unsettling bloodstains. “It looks like someone’s already tried to fight back.”  
“Good,” Grievous purred. “Did I not say I would have you Tahn?” he called to her. She didn’t answer.  
She and her troops soon had their hands cuffed behind their backs and were led through the army of droids to stand before General Grievous. “Do you have her lightsabers?” Grievous asked the droid leading them. The droid handed the pair of sabers to the reptilian android, bowing low before him with its arms stretched out in offering. “Very good,” Grievous said, taking the saber hilts and snapping them to his hips. “Put them with the rest,” Grievous ordered, shoving Ahsoka in with the clones. “I’ll meet you there shortly. I have a few more preparations to complete.”  
Fei and her squadron were led at gunpoint to the dungeons of the separatist cruiser. The only sounds were of the droids metal feet hitting the ground with every step. The lead droid halted at a steel door and turned to face the prisoners. “Secure them,” it said to its fellow escorts. Ahsoka, Fei and the troops were shoved into the large cell. The rest of Fei’s fleet were handcuffed along the wall, but Fei looked around, confused.  
“Wait,” she said, pausing as she looked around. “Where are the rest of us? How many ships went down in the fire fight? Four? Five? But we are less than half what we started with… Almost only a quarter of our army on Jarelle.”  
“We lost five ships, sir,” said a trooper named Crop. “But a few squadrons rebelled… they were all killed… We lost a lot of men.”  
A pained look of regret and sorrow flashed across her eyes; however, her moment to grieve was cut short as the thick doors slid open and Grievous stalked in. He was followed by Cad Bane, along with a medical droid and a hologram transmission droid.  
“Secure the clones to the walls,” Grievous ordered. He strode up to the young Jedi master, towering over her, using his height to intimidate the small Jedi. She stared up at him, unfazed. He growled as he grabbed Fei roughly by the arm and threw her to the ground.  
“Hey!” Ahsoka shouted, struggling against her bonds. Bane interfered, grabbing Ahsoka around the neck and pressed his blaster to her temple.  
“Cool your jets, Jedi,” he growled into her ear.  
“Droid!” Grievous shouted to his transmission droid. “Contact the republic fleet in the Kaleamic system. I believe it to be Kenobi and Skywalker’s forces,” Grievous said, a smile hidden in his voice as he secretly knew he would enjoy the pain on Kenobi’s face, as well as Tahn’s. The only look Grievous expected to see on Skywalker’s face would be rage. How he looked forward to it. “I wish to strike a bargain.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, well, this is the first fic I've posted, so your feedback would be greatly appreciated. I actually wrote this a while back, and I'm working on newer stuff, but it's all just stress relief, so I won't be working that fast. But what am I doing right? What am I doing wrong? Questions? Comments? Concerns? I hope you enjoyed, and there's more on the way! Thank you!


	2. Matter of Time

“General Kenobi! General Skywalker!” Rex called.  
“What is it Rex?” Anakin asked as he turned from the bridge to head to the communications room, followed by Obi-Wan.  
“We’re getting an incoming transmission from the Poviece system, but it’s not from General Tahn. She’s the only fleet in that system as far as I know.”  
“Well then, let’s see who it is,” Obi-Wan said as he pushed the button to answer. Even he was completely shocked by the message that met them.  
“Grievous!” Anakin shouted angrily, not even noticing the fallen form at his metal claws.  
“General Skywalker. General Kenobi… I believe I have something of yours,” he said. He grabbed a fistful of Fei’s silver silk hair and pulled her up to her knees. Her small chest heaved as she gasped in pain. “Something I think you might want back.”  
Anakin was the first to release his rage upon the infamous general. “How dare you!” he snarled, enraged.  
“Ah, I thought so,” Grievous said, yanking Fei’s hair up, forcing her to her feet.  
“Ungh,” Fei cried out in pain as Grievous jerked her head back. Rex clenched his fists in rage and Obi-Wan took a calming deep breath.  
“Grievous, this roughness is unnecessary,” Obi-Wan said, trying to keep his voice steady. “Let go of Fei and tell us what you want.”  
“On the contrary, I think the roughness is entirely necessary,” Grievous responded. There was a muffled shout from outside the projection as Bane entered with Ahsoka.  
“Ugh! Let go, slimo!” she yelled.  
“Not happening, Jedi,” he said.  
“Quite a feisty one you have here Skywalker,” Grievous said.  
“Quit playing around you damned tin can,” Anakin said aggressively. “What do you want?”  
“I am sure you are familiar with Moralo Eval,” Grievous started. “Well, you have him in custody and it seems we need him back. I did not expect you to simply hand him over to us, so I decided a trade would be easier for both you and I rather than if I were to break him out of your prison myself… So, I am offering a trade. Two Jedi and fifty something or other clones for Eval... a more than fair trade.”  
“Why don’t we just come aboard and kill your sorry ass instead?” Anakin provoked.  
“Well, you could try, but are you really willing to risk the lives of your padawan and your master? I knew you were a reckless fool, Skywalker, but I thought you were smarter than this… I will give you twenty-four hours; however, I suggest you get here sooner than that.” He reached his open hand out to the medical droid. The droid placed a syringe in the general’s hand and stepped back. “So here’s some incentive,” he said as he pulled Fei’s head back to the side and swept her long hair behind her shoulder, exposing her neck. He took the syringe and jammed the needle into the side of her neck then dropped her to the floor.  
“What did you do?!” Rex shouted as Fei fell to the ground with a shocked gasp and began writhing. She cried out as the red markings on the sides of her neck and rib cage ripped themselves open, transforming into gills. She whimpered in pain as her short spandex were burned away and her thighs started to fuse together, all the way down to her ankles, forming into her marine tail. She groaned as her fins fully formed at the base of her tale and just below the hips, and as her short dorsal rays grew from her spine. Her sliver scales glistened and steamed as her skin cooled after the induced transformation finally ended.

“You bastard!” Obi-Wan yelled.  
“Ah, of course you would be familiar with Anotheri anatomy, Kenobi,” Grievous said. “Like I said, I will give you twenty-four hours, but I would say that Tahn here has three, maybe four at the most…” He pushed Fei over to face the holotransmitter droid with his foot. She took as raspy, gasping breath and coughed, obviously in terrible pain.  
“What have you done?!” Anakin questioned threateningly, slamming his fists on the communications console.  
“You have seen the Anotheri’s aquatic form, Skywalker. I simply induced the reaction. The hormone should stay in her system for at least twenty-four hours, but she doesn’t have that long if you don’t hurry. The clock is already counting down on her life, so I’m going to break this down for you. I’m sure you are already aware of this, Kenobi,” he said with a smirk evident in his voice. “But for anyone unfamiliar with Anotheri anatomy, she is dying. Slowly. Painfully. The first hour or so will be simply excruciating. We won’t even need to restrain her, the pain will be so disabling… by the second hour, she will start bleeding internally. It will only be more painful. By the third hour, she will be too weak to even move. She will begin suffocating and will die before the fourth hour ends.”  
From aboard the republic ship, the Jedi and their clone captain could see Fei’s gills open and close like those of a fish caught in a net aboard a ship. Her chest rose and fell shakily, uselessly trying to pump air to her lungs. Her face twisted in pain as she gasped for oxygen. “However, I still have all of these clones, as well as your padawan. So, here is my ultimatum. Two clones dead every hour. Tahn will be dead before five hours pass. And after twenty four hours pass, Ahsoka Tano will be killed, along with the remaining clones. Your time has started. The coordinates you will meet me at are 467x by230y by 97z in the Poviece system. I suggest you hurry,” the reptilian android finished. He ended the transmission and stalked out of the prison, leaving the choking Jedi to die on the cold hard floor of the cell.  
The droids followed their general and Bane dragged Ahsoka back behind him.  
“Hey!” Ahsoka shouted, kicking. “What are you doing? Where are you taking me?” but the steel doors slammed shut behind her and the cell was left in silence.  
The clones were shocked into silence, but Sal finally spoke. “General?” he asked softly. “What do we do?”  
Fei coughed and wheezed. “What can we do?” she answered with a question.  
… “What are we going to do?” Rex asked, trying to hide his concern.  
“What are we going to do?” Anakin repeated. “We’re gonna go save Fei and Ahsoka and kick Grievous’s metal ass is what we’re gonna do!”  
“Yes, but how are we going to go about doing that?” Obi-Wan asked. “I will contact the council… we will decide what to do.”  
“What ‘deciding’ needs to be done?” Anakin asked aggressively. “There is no discussion to be made. We are going. Now.”  
“Anakin,” Obi-Wan said, trying to calm his pupil. “We cannot just barge in without a plan, guns blazing and sabers swinging… We need to formulate a plan. I can get ahold of Coruscant’s prison district and explain the situation. We can get Eval and make the trade, like Grievous wants.”  
“And how long will that take, hmm?” Anakin shot back at him. “A few hours? Fei is DYING!”  
“Anakin, give me an hour to make arrangements. If I find I can’t get anything done quickly, I will let you come up with the plan.”  
“An hour?! That is one fourth of the time Fei has left to live gone!” Anakin pointed out. “That’s two troops dead!”  
“I know!” Obi-Wan raised his voice, angry. “Don’t you dare think for a second that Fei isn’t important to me! That she isn’t my first priority!” he argued. “She is as close to my heart as she is to yours, so don’t doubt that I will do everything within my power and beyond to save her!”  
A hush fell over the room after Obi-Wan quieted, both Anakin and Rex surprised by his outburst. “… You’re right,” Anakin said apologetically, shocked into silence. “I’m sorry.”  
“… So am I,” Obi-Wan said. “But let’s get to work.”  
…  
Every second felt like hours. Every breath felt like Hell Fire. Fei Tahn lay unmoving on the ground of the cold, dim cell. She could feel fire in her chest, but it was so cold. She trembled, her pale shoulders shivering and her silver tail quivering with cold. She took long gasping breaths, but could already taste the blood in the back of her throat as most of the dry air passed uselessly through her red gills. It was quiet except for Fie’s strangled breathing. Her troopers didn’t know what to say. They didn’t know what to think. What to do. There was no way to escape and no way to help their dying general, so they sat in silence, some silently raging and others silently grieving. They learned quickly that speaking was even more painful than breathing for the fallen Jedi and that words of encouragement fell upon deaf ears. There was nothing any of them could do, so they sat in painful silence.  
It seemed like forever before the quiet was broken by the heavy, sliding blast doors opening. Cad Bane strolled in with an ugly smirk on his face, drawing his blaster as he strode past the small Jedi.  
“One hour down, twenty three to go,” he said, pressing the gun to the first trooper’s forehead. He pulled the trigger without hesitation. The clone’s head dropped lifelessly to his chest, spilling red on his white armor. Bane turned his gun to the next man and blew a hole in his head just as easily as the first. Several of the other troopers gritted their teeth and clenched their jaws, but all remained silent.  
“You bastard,” Fei growled, furious, her anger momentarily rising above the pain that clouded her judgement.  
“You had better watch yourself, Jedi,” Bane said threateningly. “I am in no mood and you are in no position.”  
“Even your parents knew you were scum,” she hissed.  
Bane took his boot to Fei’s stomach. “I would shut up if I were you, Jedi.” Fei coughed and spat blood, her face twisted in pain  
“No! You scum bag!” a clone trooper growled, struggling with his bonds.  
“Get away from her!” another shouted  
Bane looked at them and smirked. “What are you gonna do about it?” he asked the troopers. They were all silent, but the look in their eyes spoke volumes. “Hmm?” He gently placed his boot on Fei’s right shoulder and pressed down. Hard. There was a loud pop as Fei’s right arm was forced out of the shoulder socket, eliciting a pained cry from the woman.  
“You son of a bitch! When I get out of here, I’m going to kill you myself,” one finally spoke out loud, reflecting what Bane had already seen in their glares.  
“Oh, really now,” he said, walking over to the clone that had spoken. “But what if you never get out of here?” he raised his blaster and shot the man in the head. “Stupid clone.”  
He walked back towards the door, past the dying Jedi. “Because you are weak,” Fei said to him as he passed.  
“I beg your pardon?” Bane asked, turning toward her. “What did you just say?”  
“Because you are weak… I have met your people. What an embarrassment… not only illegitimate, but a runt? A weakling? How embarrassing. No wonder you were thrown away.” Bane kicked her again, repeatedly. She felt ribs crack as she coughed again.  
“You don’t know what you speak of, Jedi” he snarled. “Does this feel like weakness?”  
“It does not feel like strength.” Her gills opened and closed, straining, trying to find water to pump. She looked so weak, but her eyes wielded blades as she glared up at her abuser. “I can see the weakness in you, scum. You can’t escape it.”  
“If you don’t shut up, I will make you,” Bane said, pulling out his blaster and pressing the barrel against Fei’s temple.  
“NO!” a clone shouted.  
Suddenly the cell doors opened. “Cad Bane,” Grievous warned. “Leave immediately. We need her alive… For now.”  
Bane scowled. “Tsk,” he sounded, holstering his weapon. He stepped over her to leave with a hard frown twisting his face. “But she will die either way, and I will be here to watch her choke on her own blood,” he spat, turning back to glare at the Jedi. “Whether it be those failing gills of yours, or me, ripping out your tongue out.”  
The doors slammed shut behind him, and again the cell was left in near silence, Fei’s rough breathing the only sound bouncing off the cold walls, painful on the clone’s ears.  
“General?” Sal asked, concerned. “Are you okay?”  
Fei didn’t answer, but he could see her ribcage rising and falling and hear her pained breath.  
…  
“Okay,” Obi-Wan started as he finally returned from his several frustrating meetings with several frustrating people. He stroked his beard, irritated with the outcome of his pleas. “I got ahold of the prison district warden, and she was compliant. However, there are certain regulations and procedures that have to be followed to the letter. Unfortunately, she doesn’t think that they can have Eval here for an hour, hopefully a little less.”  
“What!? An hour?!” Anakin exclaimed. “We’ve already waited almost one! How much longer will it be? Will Fei even still be alive when we get there?” he said, almost accusingly. He growled. “You know what? Grievous probably isn’t even going to give her back! He’s probably going to take Eval right out of our hands then fire at us. We can’t trust him. We need to just attack! We need to go rescue Fei!”  
“I actually think you’re right,” Obi-Wan said, rubbing his temple. “I think Grievous is lying. This is probably just a trap. He’ll get Eval and two more Jedi.”  
“Then what even is the point?!” Anakin shouted.  
“Lower your voice,” Obi-Wan warned. “We need Eval to distract Grievous. Focus his attention on what he truly wants, and me, considering the animosity between us. Any other attempt would simply be pathetic and we would just put ourselves and Fei in more danger. Like I said, we need to come up with a plan… It might take a little longer than just rushing in with gunships, but we will have more of a chance of rescuing Fei, as well as surviving.”  
“I still don’t see how flying into the mouth of his ship with exactly what he wants is a good plan,” Anakin complained.  
“Well, I didn’t spend an entire hour speaking with the warden, as pleasant as that would be,” Obi-Wan said as Anakin scoffed and rolled his eyes. “I’ve also met with the council. They’ve agreed to send master Plo Koon’s fleet to aid us in Fei’s recovery. However, he is going to have to stop by the medical bay in the Ilenium system to pick up medical supplies-“  
“What? Why?” Anakin interrupted. “Why can’t he come straight here? Every second matters!”  
“Anakin,” Obi-Wan said, trying to be patient with his rash padawan. “By the time we reach Fei, her condition could be critical. We do not have the equipment on board to save her. It is crucial that Plo picks up the equipment needed. But there’s something else in the Ilenium system. Do you remember the prototype stealth ship you got to try out on that humanitarian mission on Chistophsis?” he asked. “Of course it ended up in the usual ball of flames and wreckage as all of your missions seem to…” he muttered.  
“Of course!” Anakin said. “That thing was awesome. And it wasn’t all flames and wreckage.”  
“Whatever you say,” Obi-Wan said, waving it off. “But I’ve come up with a plan,” he said, leading Anakin to the war room of the massive star cruiser. “Rex!” he called to Fei’s clone captain. “This concerns you. Join us.”  
“I’ve come up with a plan,” he said as they entered the quiet war room. All crew filtered out on to the flight deck, either navigating the ship or staying out of the way. “We will make the jump to hyperspace and meet Grievous at his coordinates as soon as we get Eval on board. We will meet Grievous head on while Master Plo circles around and drops out of hyperspace just behind Jarelle, so as to stay undetected. Anakin, you and Rex are going to be the actual rescue mission. You will be using the stealth ship to board Grievous’s cruiser. Get a small crew together and depart as soon as the prison transport ship arrives. You will drop out of hyperspace behind Jarelle and wait for Plo’s arrival. Make sure all of the men get two blasters. When you find Fei’s men, it would be a great help if they could help you escape. And take my light saber,” he said, offering the hilt of the great weapon to Anakin.  
“Why in the world would you do that? You’re going to be facing Grievous!”  
“Well, Ahsoka might be more useful with it, because you know as soon as you encounter a troupe of droids, you’re going to draw a whole lot of attention.”  
“But what about you?” Anakin asked. “As soon as we trip the alarm, Grievous is going to be swinging at you.”  
“I’m sure he will have an extra set of sabers for me to snatch,” he said with a hopeful smile. “I might even be able to get Fei’s and Ahsoka’s back… Take it,” he said. “It will look better if I’m unarmed anyways.”  
“If you say so,” Anakin said, reluctantly taking the saber hilt.  
“Good. Now I will board first. I will have only Eval with me just because I’d be afraid any clones with me would be killed as soon as Grievous realizes what’s going on. I anticipate Grievous to be jamming our transmissions, so we won’t be able to communicate. We’re going to have to rely on time signals, so here’s my plan. As soon as Plo arrives, you and your crew will board and immediately ready up for the mission. As soon as you see my ship depart from the cruiser for Grievous, you will launch the rescue mission. I will dock at the main docking station of course, closer to the bow of the cruisier. It would be best if you docked at the other end of the ship. Their docking bays will be open, if only momentarily, for me, so we must time it perfectly. You must dock, invisibly, within seconds of my ship.”  
“Oh? And how the hell am I supposed to manage that?” Anakin asked pointedly. “It’s not like I’ll be able to see you.”  
“Use the Force, padawan,” Kenobi said with a smirk.  
“I’m not your padawan anymore,” Anakin complained.  
“Well then start using what I taught you. Heaven knows it wasn’t easy, so I’d hoped you’d taken something away from all those years,” Obi-Wan retorted. “But, continuing with the plan, after boarding, it’s as simple as finding the hostages and getting out. I’ll distract Grievous for as long as I can, you just need to get Fei and her fleet out. As soon as we’re both off, we’ll turn on Grievous, with master Plo’s help, and destroy his ship.”  
Anakin paused for a moment, thinking. “… Okay… Wait a minute. How will you know when we get off with Fei?… And how will we know if you get off?”  
“You don’t worry about me, but as soon as Grievous pulled his sabers on me, I’ll know you’re on your way out.”  
“Ha,” Anakin laughed cynically. “Well. Sounds like a plan. Rex! You’re with me. Pick out a dozen men and meet me in the flight hanger as soon as you’re ready. And remember, ever man needs two weapons… We’re gonna go save your other favorite general, right Rex?”  
“Yes sir,” Rex saluted, already with a squad in mind.  
“I’ll contact you when the prison transport arrives,” Obi-Wan told them. “Good luck, and may the Force be with you.  
Anakin and Rex both nodded as they took off in different directions to prepare for the rescue mission.  
…  
Sal was beginning to panic. He tried to keep his composure, for the sake of his men, but inside he was beginning to fall apart. Two more of his men were dead and it wouldn’t be too much longer before Bane strolled in again with two more bullets. And then there was his general. She was completely unresponsive. Her back was to him, so he couldn’t see her face, but she was no longer answering him when he would ask if she was okay. She was barely breathing. He could see her chest rise and fall, but her breaths were shallow and slow and about ten minutes ago, he noticed the blood start trailing from the gill slits along her sides. It terrified him. It was just as Grievous predicted. She was dying, and it was horribly painful to watch.  
…

“Anakin, do you copy?” Obi-Wan’s voice broke through over Anakin’s wrist com.  
“Here, Obi-Wan,” Anakin answered.  
“Good. Master Plo has just notified me that his fleet is in route. He will arrive shortly before us. The prison warden has also just arrived with Eval. That’s your que to head out.”  
“Right,” Anakin answered. “Skywalker out,” he said, ending the call. “Alright boys!” he shouted to his squad. “Load up and let’s head out!” The squad strapped in as Anakin piloted the shuttle out of the hanger and into open space. “Ready boys?” he called over his shoulder.  
“Yes sir!” the clones saluted in union.  
“How about you Rex?”  
“Sir?” Rex asked, resting his hands on the battle worn helmet in his lap as he sat down in the co-pilot’s chair.  
“I can sense you’re angry… and maybe just a little bit scared.”  
“… Yes, sir,” Rex answered.  
Anakin was silent for a moment. “Prepare for the jump to hyperspace!” he shouted. He grabbed the joystick and shoved it into the forward position. The engines revved loudly in a moment of preparation before the shuttle lunged forward and streaks of light streamed past the front window, making the leap into hyperspace. “… We’ll get her Rex,” Anakin assured him. “Don’t worry. There’s still plenty of time… We’ll get her back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys are liking it, because there's more to come! I love hearing from my readers, so if you have anything you'd like to say or ask, feel free! And thanks for clicking!


	3. Launch

“General Plo is in position and Anakin is in route,” Obi-Wan told his officers on the flight deck. “Eval is secured below decks, and we’re running out of time. Prepare the engines for the jump to hyperspace. Allow the prison transport to retreat a few klicks then make the jump for Jarelle.”  
“Yes sir,” the flight officers saluted, warming up the jump engines. The transport ship undocked and took a couple of minutes to put enough distance between themselves and the republic cruiser. “We’re ready sir,” a pilot let the general know. “Making the jump in 3… 2… 1.” The ship lurched forward, speeding toward Grievous’ designated trade coordinates.  
…  
“Alright Rex, make the drop. We’re close enough,” Anakin ordered his copilot as they circled around behind Jarelle.  
“Yes sir,” Rex complied as he drew the joystick into the rear position, dropping the gunship out of hyperspace. They came to a halt just below the metal belly of Plo’s star cruiser.  
“Prepare to dock!” Anakin shouted to his men, maneuvering the ship towards the docking bay under the cruiser’s hull. Slowly, the gunship was pulled into Plo’s cruiser. “Alright men! Let’s unload and ready up!”  
“Yes sir!” his men saluted. Rex slipped his helmet back on and followed the general off the ship and onto the flight deck. His men were already lined up and waiting for orders. He fell in line and waited for General Plo to meet them for their mission parameters.  
“General on deck!” Rex shouted, followed by a uniform salute by his men.  
“At ease troopers,” Plo Koon waved them off as he approached with his own clone commander.  
“Master,” Anakin greeted him, bowing his head slightly.  
“Master Skywalker,” Plo greeted in return. “I believe we have a dear friend to save.”  
“Yes sir,” Anakin answered with a firm nod.  
“Well then, your ship is in the next hanger,” Plo said, gesturing to the left. “You know your mission. Obi-wan is on his way. And you know you must return to me when you have Tahn, right?”  
“Yes sir,” Anakin said.  
“Good,” Plo said. “I will alert you when Kenobi arrives. Good luck, and may the force be with you.”  
“Thank you, and also with you,” Anakin said respectfully. “Alright men! Let’s move out.”  
…  
“Alright Cody, we’ve arrived. Drop out of hyperspace,” General Kenobi ordered.  
“Yes sir,” the clone commander obeyed. The republic cruiser came to a halt above the green planet of Jarelle and came to face Grievous’ separatist cruiser. Obi-wan took a deep breath.  
“Alright,” Kenobi sighed. “Go get our prisoner.” He waited a few minutes for Moralo Eval to be brought up to the flight deck, but it felt like hours. He normally prided himself on his patience, but right now, time felt like it was crawling. And yet, he was afraid time was moving too quickly. He was afraid time was running out for Fei Tahn. Finally his attention turned to the door, where the squat, yellow alien was being escorted through in handcuffs by two clone guards. He scowled up at Obi-wan as he was brought before the general, but a smirk slowly made its way onto his face.  
“Well, Moralo Eval will be free at last it seems,” the criminal laughed. “But to see the Jedi drop so low as to be giving up a threat such as I to your enemy amuses me. Not that I’m complaining.”  
Obi-wan just glared at him silently for a moment. “Let’s just go,” he said, leading the small man down to the flight deck where his small fighter waited for him.  
“What’s the hurry?” Eval asked rhetorically.  
Obi-wan almost broke his composure. He took a deep breath and roughly forced Eval into the rear cockpit. “Hey!” Moralo complained, but Obi-wan ignored him. The flight deck officer gave him the signal to embark and he was soon on his way toward Grievous’ monstrous ship.  
…  
The overhead speaker system crackled to life above Anakin and his squad. “General Kenobi has embarked for Grievous’ ship,” Plo’s voice boomed over the hanger. “Now is your que to head out.”  
Anakin gave a thumbs up to the security camera and commanded his troops to load up. Skywalker was last to board the ship and took in a deep breath. This ship was familiar to him and he confidently made his way to the cockpit, where Rex was already seated as copilot. “Well, this is it men!” Anakin told his troopers as he took his seat. He fired up the engines and waited for the bay doors to open. The ship slowly lifted off the ground and hovered to exit the flight deck and fall out into open space. “Turn on the cloaking device,” Anakin ordered.  
“Yes sir,” a trooper replied, obeying the command.  
Anakin carefully piloted the ship around Jarelle, watching for the separatist cruiser to appear from behind the curve of the planet. “There it is,” Anakin whispered darkly. A tiny flicker of movement caught his eye. He glanced toward a small light moving toward the bow of the separatist ship. “Obi-wan,” Anakin realized. He quickly realized that Obi-wan’s fighter would arrive at his docking bay far sooner than they were. “Uh, can we get more power to the thrusters?” he called over his shoulder.  
“We have none to spare, sir,” a trooper responded. “All power is directed toward the cloaking device.”  
“Damn.” Anakin thought hard for a second before remembering his master’s words. He closed his eyes and concentrated. ‘Master!’ he shouted out with the power of the Force. ‘Master, we’re not there yet. You need to slow down if we’re going to make it. We’re not that far behind, but we need a little bit more time.’ He opened his eyes back up and glanced hopefully back towards the small moving light. He released the breath he was holding as he noticed the light slow, just slightly. “Thank goodness.” He kept his connection with Obi-wan until he was below the belly of the great ship.  
“Shields are down!” a trooper alerted him.  
“Alright,” he said as he carefully lifted the ship up into the open docking bay as the ray shield fell. He silently piloted the stealth ship onto the expansive flight deck, sneaking past only a few droid guards. “Alright, men. This isn’t going to be easy, but are you all ready?” he asked.  
“Yes sir!” his men all responded, determined to save General Fei Tahn, a Jedi many of them had come to love and respect.  
…  
Anakin had made it. Kenobi had felt it, but he still felt unease as he shut down his engines, finishing with a loud hiss. He shook it off and hardened himself for the mission ahead. “Alright Moralo Eval, your freedom awaits,” he said, a hint of sarcasm hidden in his voice. A droid escort made its way to the lone fighter.  
“Give me your light saber,” one said in its metallic voice, holding its hand out to receive.  
“Already taken care of my friend,” Obi-wan said, opening up his arms as if to prove his vulnerability.  
“Search him,” the droid ordered. Two battle droids made their way over to him and patted him down, searching for weapons.  
“He’s unarmed,” one confirmed, falling back in line after it finished.  
“Come with us,” the droid that was obviously in charge ordered as Eval was helped from the fighter.  
“Lead the way,” Obi-wan said complacently.  
The Jedi general was led through the dim lit hallways, across hard steel floors. There was a chill in the dry air. They marched silently, all but for the metal footfalls of droids. They didn’t have to walk very far before they reached the heavy blast doors of the flight deck. The lead droid typed in a quick code into the keypad next to the door, gaining them access.  
Grievous turned at the sound of the blast doors sliding open. “Ah, general Kenobi,” the android called, sounding pleased. “I see you’ve brought Eval just as I’ve asked. Very good.”  
…  
Anakin brought the ship to a stop near the back of the hanger, hidden behind several cargo ships. “Contrary to my usual methods, we are going to avoid any confrontation with any separatist droids,” Anakin started, gathering his team for a quick pep talk before the rescue. “Now, there are a few out there. We are not going to shoot them. We are going to sneak in through the ventilation system until we’re in the lower decks. Narrow. Rook. Spade. You three guard the ship. Do not leave your post under any circumstances. The rest of you. Follow me. Quietly.” He quickly lowered the loading door and led his squad off the cloaked stealth ship. At the edge of the hanger, the grated opening of a ventilation shaft opened near the ceiling, several dozen feet in the air. One clone silently launched his grappling hook to latch into the steel above the opening. He quietly walked up the wall, and took a small tool from his utility belt to carefully remove the grate. He tossed it down, one of his brothers catching it and placing it gently on the ground. One by one, the clones filed into the ventilation shaft after Anakin. The Jedi silently led the way through the cold vents, lower and lower into the ship until he finally felt they were deep enough to reveal themselves. He sensed they were getting close. He kicked out the next metal grate without a care and dropped down to the floor below. He reeled around, looking for an enemy as the rest of his men followed, but found they were still alone.  
They continued their sprint down the ship until they came to a sealed blast door. “Well, this is the prison deck,” Anakin turned to his men. “We might not have met much resistance up to this point, but you know damn well that that’s about to change as soon as we blast through these doors… So wire it up.”  
It was only a matter of seconds before they had the door wired and ready to blow. “Clear!” a shout echoed across the hall, followed by a deafening explosion. Of course that attracted some attention. The battle droids on patrol had to take a moment to process the shocking situation before they returned fire. The metal droids were easy for Anakin’s elite squad to fell, but they heard more on the way as they sprinted down the hall, checking through barred windows as they passed. Suddenly, blaring red lights started flashing above head and alarms started sounding. “Go! Go!” Anakin shouted, leading his men on their charge through the prison deck. One of the doors was suddenly flung open and Cad Bane stepped out with his twin pistols firing. Anakin stepped forward to face him, but a dozen commando droids followed him out. “Split up!” Anakin shouted. “I’ll take care of this. Red, Joker, back me up. The rest of you, finish the mission!” The Jedi master leapt into the fray, drawing the full attention of his opponents to ensure his men passed safely. “Bane, you son of a bitch,” Anakin growled. “Where’s Fei!?”  
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” The blue criminal retorted, sneering as the Jedi master’s saber met a commando droid’s stun baton. Anakin grunted as he pushed the weapon off of him and took the droids arm off with his own. Bane laughed as he retreated back into the cell.  
“Master!” Anakin heard his padawan call.  
“Ahsoka!” Anakin shouted as he rushed into the room, tearing through several droids as they tried to stop him. He came face to face with his padawan in ray shield cuffs and Bane’s blaster to her temple.  
“Not another step, Jedi.”


	4. Rescue

“This is it,” Rex said, moving away from the door after glancing through the barred window, confirming their objective.  
Two troopers carefully wired up charges along the door frame and quickly backed away from the explosives. “Clear!” one shouted before setting off the charge. The explosives went off with a loud bang and a hot flame. The door came crashing to the ground and smoke filled the hallway and the cold steel cell. The squad rushed into the room with their guns raised, but found no droids guarding the prisoners from inside. They immediately went to work, shooting out the cuffs around their fellow soldiers’ wrists and passing out blasters. Rex immediately rushed toward the collapsed figure in the center of the cell. He dropped to his knees next to Fei’s side and gently turned her over to face him.  
“You sure are a sight for poor eyes,” she whispered, cracking her sweet smile. Rex usually smiled back, but now it was all he could do to stop himself from weeping. She looked so frail. He was rarely privileged with a touch, but now, with her lying limp in his arms, she looked so unlike herself. Even more breakable than her narrow frame already betrayed. He lifted his helmet off his head and pulled his glove off with his teeth, lowering his hand to feel her pale skin. She felt almost as cold as the metal he kneeled upon. She was so pale, his dark hand such a contrast to her porcelain skin. Then he noticed the blood. He was kneeling in it, the red staining his knee pads and soaking into his under-armor.   
“Oh my God,” he gasped, barely audible. It pooled beneath her, the red in her gills more than just the pink flesh, but blood. The dark red, streaking down her sides to pool below her.  
He heard a gasp from behind him. “General… What is this?! What is all this blood?!” Hardcase exclaimed.   
“We need to get her out of here. She’s not going to last much longer,” he said quietly. “So get these men free and armed! We need to meet back up with General Skywalker and get Tahn the medical attention she needs!” he ordered, letting his frustration show by accident.   
“Yes sir!” Hardcase saluted, running back to work with the rest of the men.  
“Fei…” he whispered softly. He gathered her gently in his arms. She weighed hardly anything at all. The woman made a soft sound of protest, pained even by Rex’s gentle movements. “I’m sorry,” he cooed as he slipped his helmet back on and rose with the Jedi in his arms. She whimpered quietly again, her head rolling to the side and her face twisted in pain. The red smeared onto the front of Rex’s breastplate, freezing him for a moment, in shock at the sight of the red streak of her blood on him.  
“Ungh,” she gasped, feebly. “Ow.”  
“It’s going to be okay,” Rex told her. “We’re going to get you out of here… Are we ready, men?” Rex shouted.  
“Yes sir!” his clones shouted in response.  
“Then let’s head out!” The armed troopers filed out through the narrow metal door with Rex taking up the rear, but not before Sal hurried to his general’s side.  
“Is she alright?” he asked, but immediately fell quiet at the sight of her blood.  
“She will be,” Rex answered stubbornly.   
…  
“Drop your weapon,” Cad Bane ordered. “Now,” he said as he pressed the barrel harder against Ahsoka’s head.   
Anakin glared at Bane as he slowly lowered his saber to the ground. “Good,” Bane relaxed, but Anakin was not about to give up now. He reached out with the Force, slamming Bane against the wall with all of his strength. The commando droids moved quickly to stop him, but he pushed them away with his outstretched arm. He quickly retrieved his light saber and ignited it, moving in between his padawan and the bounty hunter.   
“Here you go Snips,” he said, cutting her free with Obi-wan’s light saber and tossing it to her once her hands were free.  
“Ah, yes!” Ahsoka smiled, gripping the weapon confidently. She ignited the saber and effortlessly swung the blade around to take off a droid’s head as Anakin took care of the last few commando droids. “Karma’s a bitch, isn’t it Bane?” she asked, holding the tip of her blade under his chin. Bane said nothing as he dropped his blasters. “Now. Where. Is. Fei?” she asked threateningly.   
Bane just scowled for a moment, but reluctantly gave an answer. “Cell 117.”  
“Take us there,” Anakin joined in with his own saber, but lowered the weapon as Rex’s short range call lit up his wrist com device.  
“We’ve found her sir,” Rex’s static voice came through. “But we’ve got trouble headed our way.”   
“Understood Rex,” Anakin responded. “Head back the way you came. We’ll back you up.” Next he turned to Bane. “Cuff him up and let’s go.”  
“It would be my pleasure,” Ahsoka said with a smile. She grabbed a pair off one of the security commando droids and clamped them around Bane’s thin wrists. She hauled him to his feet and led him to the ray shield binding post. She activated the cuffs and left the man suspended in the air, his arms fastened overhead. “Stay right there if you would, darling,” she mocked.   
“Little rat,” he spat at her. She reeled around to throw back another insult, but blaster fire suddenly grabbed their attention.  
“C’mon Snipps,” Anakin insisted. “We gotta go.”  
“Right,” she agreed, following Anakin down the hall at top speed.  
…  
“You will honor our agreement, Grievous,” Obi-wan insisted as he placed his hand on Moralo Eval’s shoulder, holding him down. “Bring Fei and the remainder of her fleet to me, and you will have Eval.”   
“Of course,” Grievous chuckled darkly turning away from the Jedi. “But first I have one last request.” He paused, giving a quick signal to his droids. “You.” The droids all turned on him with blasters, but even more surprisingly, flashing red lights and blaring alarms rang overhead. Without an instant of hesitation, Obi-wan reached out with the force and grabbed two lightsabers from Grievous’ holster, pleased to find they were Fei’s twin hilts. “Skywalker!” Grievous growled. “You planned this!”  
“Who are you to judge? Were you not about to turn on me?” Obi-wan smiled, pulling Eval behind him and igniting the sabers.  
“Go take care of the intruders,” the android ordered his battle droids. “I’ll take care of this.” He took another pair of sabers holstered at his hips and lit the weapons, the green and blue light illuminating his metal face.  
…  
“Unh, Sir!” a clone shouted, pressing his back up against the wall as blaster fire grazed the side of his helmet. “We can’t hold them off much longer!”  
“We’re going to have to until General Skywalker gets here.” He too was pressed up against the wall, ducking behind the support columns that jutted out along the hall. His men fought valiantly, but they had already lost a great many to the separatist forces. He held Fei Tahn against his chest, worried he wasn’t being gentle enough, despite the battle surrounding them. However, the Jedi had fallen unresponsive. There was a scream from down the hall as another of his brothers fell dead, his breast plate riddled with holes. “Damn it all to Hell,” he muttered under his breath. He reached around the edge of his cover with one pistol, firing blindly into enemy lines. He didn’t want to lose hope, but their situation was looking grim. “General Skywalker!” he pleaded again into his wrist com.  
“I’m here!” he heard the reply, not only on his com, but down the hall, past the sound of blaster fire. He was behind enemy lines. It always surprised him how the Jedi were so superior to not only the droids, but the clones as well. It wasn’t long before the two Jedi scrapped the entire battalion. “Geez Rex, that wasn’t so tough,” he started joking, but immediately fell silent when he noticed Fei. “Right. Let’s get out of here.” The remnants of the clone forces regrouped and followed the general and commander Tano back toward the flight deck. “Line the halls!” Anakin shouted back as they ran. The clones immediately reacted, pulling the handheld explosives from their belts and placing them along the walls as they retreated. “Rex! The detonator!” Anakin called. Rex took the remote from his pack and tossed it to the Jedi just as a troupe of droids rounded the corner behind them. Anakin and Ahsoka took up the rear, defending against blaster fire until the first droid passed the last charge. Anakin smirked as he pressed down on the detonator, setting off the charges. The explosion destroyed the hallway, taking out the army of droids with it. The ship lurched, throwing the rescue team off balance, stumbling as the ship suddenly dipped toward the planet. “Well… I guess we hit something important,” Anakin guessed as he made his way back to his feet. “Let’s get out of here!”  
…  
‘Ungh… Maybe I should have brought a little help,’ Obi-wan complained to himself as he dodged a swing to the left and parried to the right. It wasn’t so much Grievous as it was trying to keep Eval under control. He had finally knocked the little yellow man unconscious after knocking him around with the Force to keep him from escaping behind Grievous. He now had the alien slung over his shoulder as he tried to defend himself and escape the ship. Suddenly, the ship lurched, jerking Obi-wan’s feet out from under him. He grunted as he hit the ground. The lights above head flickered out and everything was dark for a moment before the emergency floor lights kicked in. The dim, red glow lining the walls illuminating the floor alone, until Grievous descended on him with his sabers alight. Kenobi reacted quickly, bringing his own weapons to defend. The clash of sound and light lit the hall for an instant. “What did you do to my ship!?” Grievous screeched.  
“I didn’t do anything,” Obi-wan pointed out.   
“Uh, General Grievous?” the com link on the general’s wrist blinked into life. “We’ve got a malfunction, uh, with the primary engines? It’s caused a ship-wide blackout.”   
“Fix it!” Grievous shouted into his wrist.   
“Uh, I’m afraid the damage is quite extensive…” the droid responded. “There was an explosion… And there are two Jedi running around down h- Uh oh-“ the droid was cut off as the sound of a lightsaber cutting through metal came across the transmission.   
Obi-wan let out a quick laugh as he threw Grievous back and quickly scrambled to his feet, slinging Eval back over his shoulder as he passed. He sprinted down the dimly lit path back toward the flight deck.  
Another rumbling explosion shook the ship, throwing the android forward onto his hands. “Status report!” he shouted into his wrist com as he gave chase.   
“Sir, the hull has been breached by a chain of internal explosions. We’ve lost primary engines and we’re slipping into Jarelle’s gravitational pull. The backup power will not be enough to pull us out, nor will it power the shields enough to sustain entry heat or a crash landing,” a monotone voice responded. “We also lack the capability to defend ourselves from enemy attack.”  
Grievous halted after the final statement, letting Obi-wan gain distance. He growled, cursing at the ground. “Ready an escape pod,” he ordered. He turned away from Kenobi’s retreating form, his footsteps already receding. He started his own retreat, sprinting back toward the flight deck.  
…  
They were almost back to the ship. The clones were running with their helmet lights pointed forward, sprinting forward in the dark. They came onto the cargo deck firing. “Narrow! Spade!” Anakin shouted across the expansive deck. “Start the engines!”   
“Sir!” they responded, ceasing fire and running aboard the ship.   
“Go! Go!” Anakin shouted, ordering his men onto the ship as he sprinted toward the droids defending the deck. They heard the engines rumble to life as they took out the last of the resistance. They both raced back toward the camouflaged ship as it slowly lifted off of the ground, hovering toward the open bay doors. Rook was hanging off the loading door, appearing to be floating on a thick metal sheet.   
“Here sir!” he shouted with his arm outstretched. The Jedi hopped aboard, and the three of them disappeared into the ship as the bay doors lifted shut. Anakin hurried to the cockpit, but the ship was considerably more crowded than it was at the beginning of the mission. He angrily pushed his way toward the front of the ship, finally making it to the pilot’s chair, finding Rex already seated.  
“Where’s Fei?” Anakin asked, trying not to look at the blood staining Rex’s armor.   
“There,” he said, nodding toward the back of the cockpit, where the woman lay unmoving on the floor.  
“Ahsoka!” he shouted as he piloted the camouflaged shuttle off the flight deck. Another explosion shook the separatist cruiser, jostling Anakin’s ship as they finally made open space. They watched a fireball erupt from the massive cruiser as Ahsoka came stumbling into the cockpit, answering her master’s call. “Well, damn. Looks like we did a hell of a lot of damage, eh Snipps?”  
“Yes master,” she said with a smile that quickly faded when she glanced to the side, where she saw Fei lying.   
“Is she still alive?” Anakin asked as Ahsoka dropped to her knees next to her.  
She felt for a pulse, trying to keep the tears from her eyes. It was faint, but it was present. “She’s alive,” Ahsoka gasped, drawing the woman up against her, hugging her to keep her warm.  
“She’s still alive.”  
…  
“Blast!” Obi-wan exclaimed as another explosion shook the ground. He recovered from his stumble within only feet of his ship. “Why is it always me?” he asked the universe. He hauled Eval up into his ship and slipped into the cockpit, warming up the engines as he pulled the space shield closed down around him. “So much for your freedom,” Obi-wan commented bitterly, fully aware that Eval couldn’t hear him. “Little bastard,” he muttered as he shot out of the docking bay. “More trouble than you’re worth if you ask me,” he grumbled. “But there’s some good news,” he smiled as he saw Plo’s cruiser approaching from behind Jarelle. “And there’s Anakin,” he said, noticing a small light appear from thin air just before the massive republic cruiser. “Very good,” he said, racing toward his own ship. He came to a fast stop under the cruiser’s hull and lifted his fighter up into the docking bay.   
“General,” Cody greeted him on deck.  
“Open fire,” Obi-wan ordered as he leapt from the cockpit, dragging Eval down behind himm.  
“Yes sir,” his commander saluted, relaying the order into his wrist com.  
…  
Anakin let out a sigh of relief, finally under the safety of Plo Koon’s ship and so close to aid for Fei. He gently led the ship up into the docking bay, carefully setting her down. The engines hissed and the cloak fell as he shut the ship down. Plo Koon stood waiting for them with a team of medical clones behind him as Anakin lowered the doors.   
“Disembark!” Anakin shouted, ordering his men off the ship. “Let’s go!... Rex-“ Anakin turned to his captain, but his seat was already empty. He already had Fei in his arms, leaving only a small puddle of red on the floor beneath them. “Right… Let’s go.”  
Anakin shoved his way off the ship, making way for Rex as troopers spilled out onto deck, finally free of the overcrowded ship. “Master Plo,” Anakin gasped out. “We need to get Master Tahn to the medical bay.”   
“Yes,” Plo agreed calmly. “Leave her with us. You go up to the flight deck and help Obi-wan with his attack on Grievous.”  
“But-“ Anakin began to protest.  
“You’ve done all you can here,” Plo assured him as Rex set the woman gently on the white, cloth stretcher hovering between two trooper medics. He was reluctant to let her go, but Anakin addressed him.  
“Stay with her,” Anakin told him. “Keep me posted.” Plo gave him a quick nod as Anakin ran toward the upper decks with Ahsoka in tow. Instead, Rex followed the medics as they raced toward the medical bay, terrified that they wouldn’t reach it in time. They’d made it this far, but he prayed it wasn’t all for nothing. They burst through one last sliding pair of blast doors, and the cold, chlorine smell of the air hit them like a wave. The bright white floors and walls and the fluorescent lights above were almost blinding. He heard a small sound of protest and looked down to see Fei with her eyes screwed shut, shying away from the light.  
“Thank God,” he gasped out under his breath. They made a quick turn into another brightly lit room and halted. A Bacta tank lay horizontal against one wall, a beautiful sight for Rex’s sore eyes. He stood back and watched as one of the medics gently lowered Fei down into the partially filled tank while others flipped switches and hooked machines up around the room. The medic leaning over the Jedi pressed a breathing mask to her face, the hollow tube feeding water from a chamber built into the wall. Water finally ran across her gills, rinsing the dark red out into the Bacta solution she was half submerged in. she gave a shallow cough as water entered her lungs and passed through the gill slits opening up to the rising Bacta solution, spilling the tinted water out into the tank. Before the solution completely submerged her, the medic stuck electrodes to her chest and temples, taking her vital signs, the stats blinking to life on a nearby screen.   
“Pulse confirmed… 52 BPM. Temperature at 95.4-“  
“Is she going to be okay?” Rex asked anxiously.   
“She should be fine,” he answered, and that was all Rex needed to hear. He activated his wrist com to contact Anakin.  
“General Skywalker…” Rex called out. “She is going to be fine.”  
“Thank you Rex,” the general’s voice cracked over the com link. “You’ve done enough good work today… You can stay there, with her if you want.”  
“Thank you sir,” Rex answered. “I think I’ll take you up on that offer.”  
“Very good,” Anakin said, ending the call and turning back to the one-sided battle taking place before him. Plo’s and Obi-wan’s ships descended upon the crippled separatist cruiser without mercy. Escape pods ejected left and right, shooting off into space at terrifying speeds, too small for the republic cruisers to track. Many were shot down by republic cannons, but several escaped out into open space. “Do you think he got away?” Anakin asked as Plo came to stand next to him.  
“Grievous is as clever as he is cowardly… It would not surprise me,” he replied as the fire light of Grievous’ defeated cruiser filled the command deck.  
Anakin grumbled in response, sensing the Jedi master was right, but immediately straightened up as his master contacted him from his own ship. “Master Kenobi,” Anakin answered, opening communications between them.   
“Anakin! How is Fei? Is she alright? Did you make it in time?” Obi-wan asked worriedly.  
Anakin chuckled. “Yeah, she’s going to be fine,” he said, smiling at how visible the relief was on Obi-wan’s face.  
“Oh, thank the Gods.”  
“Master?” Anakin asked, drawing Obi-wan’s attention back to the now. “Do we go after the escape pods?”  
“No, I’ve already sent a few squads down to Jarelle to take care of the few that landed, but the ones in open space will be near impossible to locate with no true ‘life’ onboard,” Obi-wan answered. “Leave it to them… We’ve had enough hardship for one day. We will head back to Coruscant to return Eval and get Fei Tahn the rest she needs… As well as the rest we need… Let’s head back home.”  
…  
Light began filtering in between fluttering eyelids. Everything was pure white. A blur of blinding light. She squinted her eyes, trying to block out the brightness, bringing her hands up to cover her face. She could faintly hear her name being called, but is sounded like an echo as her senses slowly returned to her. She blinked a couple of times, blurry shapes appearing from the bright white, and those shapes lowly coming into focus. She saw medics working unhurriedly around the white room. She heard a steady beeping, then she heard her name again. She turned her head slowly, the movement slightly painful, but was glad to see Rex at her side.   
“General. How are you feeling?” he asked. Fei replied with a thumbs up, unable to speak through the breathing mask around her face. “Of course you are,” Rex sighed in relief. “We just arrived on Coruscant. You should be cleared to leave soon,” he said with a smile.   
“You could leave now, if you wanted,” one of the clone medics informed them as he walked by with a hologram chart in hand. “Well, that is, if you could. The hormones in your systems still haven’t run their full course, but it shouldn’t be long now. Oh, and you can take the mask off if you wish. We’ve drained the Bacta solution. It’s all water in there. Your wounds have fully healed.”  
Fei nodded as she pulled the mask from her face with a sigh of relief. The trooper unlatched the top of the tank, allowing Fei to toss the tube out to the medic and pull her head up above the surface. “Ugh… Well. Was that fun, or what?”  
Rex laughed. “Sorry sir, but no… I’m just glad you’re alright.”   
“Are you kidding me!” Anakin laughed loudly as he came strutting into the room, followed by his padawan and Obi-wan. “That was the most fun we’ve had in years! We got to destroy a ship! How much fun is that!”  
“Oh, speaking of which, did you get him? Grievous?” Fei asked, then slipped back under the water for a deep breath.  
“No, sorry. He got away,” Obi-wan said. “But we won Jarelle, took out his ship, and saved your fleet, so I’d say a day well done.”  
“It’s good to see you alive and well Master,” Anakin said with sincerity.   
“It’s good to be alive and well,” Fei said with a smile. “But I can’t wait to get back in the action… But maybe a few days relaxing at the Temple will do me good. And I’m taking my captain back. Rex, you’re sticking with me.”  
“Yes sir,” the clone said with a chuckle.  
“We’ll get him next time,” Ahsoka said eagerly. “But until then, I guess we’ll always listen to your gut feeling.”  
Fei scoffed. “Uh, yeah. No kidding.”  
Anakin laughed as he made his way to the door. “You get well soon,” he waved as he left, followed by Ahsoka and Obi-wan. “Why don’t you keep her some company,” he said to Rex.  
“It’ll be my pleasure sir,” Rex saluted.  
“Hey. Rex,” Fei called her captain over to her. “You need to go get me some pants.”  
[Que Star Wars theme and roll credits]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that's it folks! Hope you enjoyed it, but I've got some more ideas lined up. Please leave a review. I'd love to know what you thought! Comments? Questions? Concerns? I'd love to hear it. Thanks for reading!


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